2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Homily
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19
1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20
John 1:35-42
January 18, 2015
Standing with some of his disciples, John the Baptist sees Jesus walk by and immediately points his disciples to Jesus with the words “Behold, the Lamb of God”. John has no interest in keeping his disciples to himself. He ministers to lead people to Jesus.
When Andrew and the other disciple hear John’s words, they immediately follow Jesus. Jesus asks them, “What are you looking for?” In their response they call Him “Rabbi” showing they recognize He is someone special.
Without really answering His question they ask Jesus where He is staying. This question isn’t a simple matter or geography or looking for lodging. The place could signify something about who Jesus really is and what He is doing. Jesus invites them to come and see.
In coming to church, we are, in effect, coming to see Jesus. What are we looking for? Are we looking for a miracle worker to do us a favor and then move on without obligation? Coming here, as we just looking for something to make us feel good for a little bit? Do we come here seeking a God who agrees with our beliefs?
There’s nothing wrong in asking for miracles but are we willing to commit to a relationship with Jesus, trusting in whatever He does for us, great miracle or otherwise?
Some people would like Mass to make us feel “warm and fuzzy inside”. Coming to Mass should help us feel better but not just “warm and fuzzy” on a superficial level but by drawing us into a deeper relationship with God that transcends earthly things. The “warm and fuzzy feeling” can be nice but it doesn’t always last very long. Jesus invites us to a deeper joy.
Do we expect God to agree with us? Won’t things be great if God saw things our way so we can living the way we want?
Do you want to know something? I don’t things would be that great if God would just do things our way. I know I am not perfect and what I want isn’t always what is best. What is convenient for me isn’t always right. That’s why I come to Jesus, to seek His guidance.
Andrew and the others immediately followed Jesus. They must have sensed something about Him to recognize Him as the Messiah.
I don’t always find it easy to know what Jesus is saying. There are too many different voices out there. Which one is Jesus? It isn’t always easy to recognize Jesus’ voice.
Look at Samuel. He is a dedicated servant of the Lord, even sleeping near the Ark of God. God speaks to him three times but he does not recognize it as God’s voice. He just assumes it must be Eli. In time, Samuel will learn to recognize God’s voice but he must first build a deep relationship with the Lord.
Do we seek a deeper relationship with the Lord? Are we willing to make God part of our whole life? As Paul writes to the Corinthians, he realizes that they think some things they do don’t have any connection to their relationship with God. In this case, Paul speaks to them of “immorality.” As we read this, we can realize that Paul isn’t speaking of just any immorality but a specific category. In this case, Paul is speaking about sexual behavior. They think it doesn’t matter but it does because it says something about how we view other people. Are they people to be treated with love and dignity or something we use for pleasure?
We need a deeper relationship with the Lord to understand such things. I think a lot of people have a very general sense of what the Church teaches here but many don’t know specifics and many don’t know why?
I think the same can be true for a lot of things. For instance, the annual March for Life will be this week. I think a lot of people know the Church objects to abortion but don’t know why. The same can be true for the death penalty and end of life issues.
I think we all need to learn more about how the Lord calls us to live and why. It means putting some effort into reading Catholic teaching, not just what’s in the news or other people’s opinion. What we hear at Mass is a starting point, not the whole point.
Step one begins with truly committing ourselves to the Lord, opening our heart and repeating Samuel’s words, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”